Business Ethics & Corporate Governance Presentation: Case Study: Enron Corporation

Outline Company Background The ins and outs Aftermath Societal and legal impacts Prevention

Company Background

History of Enron Enron is builds up by the natural gas and the electric power, afterwards further expanded to the energy retail sales marketing service, was an industry and commerce also the modernized energy management service company, and also has provided the high tech related industry. Enron had been established in 1985, merge becomes the entire American biggest energy transaction company by the Houston natural gas company and Nebraska state Inter the North, it provides the service is quite widespread, including electric power, wind power, coal, crude oil, natural gas, metal, chemical fertilizer... ... And so on.

History of Enron  Enron mainly provides three aspects the different services:   Enron Global Services: This is company's property foundation enterprise, all is equipped with the energy pipeline north US and the whole world and matches sells transport business the service.   Enron Whole Sale Services: Provides the global energy service, including commodity marketing and transportation, risk management and financial service.   Enron Energy Services: Mainly provides the industry and commerce customer energy and the equipment conformity management service, is the company main retail sales enterprise.

The ins and outs

The ins and outs Business expanding Argument False account Complex trading (LJM & Chewco) Conflict of interest Direct competition (LJM )

Aftermath

Aftermath Kenneth Lay, the former Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer and Jeffrey Skilling, former Chief Executive Officer and Chief Operating Officer, went on trial for their part in the Enron scandal financial crimes, including bank fraud, making false statements to banks and auditors, securities fraud, wire fraud, money laundering, money laundering conspiracy and insider trading. U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) had been seeking more than $90 million from Lay in addition to civil fines.

The trial of Arthur Andersen on charges of obstruction of justice related to Enron helped to expose accounting fraud at WorldCom Former Enron CFO Andrew Fastow, the mastermind behind Enron's complex network of offshore partnerships and questionable accounting practices, was indicted on November 1, 2002, by a federal grand jury in Houston on 78 counts including fraud, money laundering, and conspiracy

Andrew Fastow will serve a ten-year prison sentence and forfeit US $23 Andrew Fastow will serve a ten-year prison sentence and forfeit US $23.8 million Ben Glisan Jr., a former Enron treasurer, was the first man to be sent to prison in the Enron scandal. He pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit security and wire fraud. Skilling was convicted of 19 of 28 counts of securities fraud and wire fraud and acquitted on the remaining nine, including charges of insider trading.

he faced a total sentence of up to 45 years in prison Neil Coulbeck, was found dead in a park in north-east London sixteen people pleaded guilty for crimes committed at the company four former Merrill Lynch employees, were found guilty at trial

Financial Crisis Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) Arthur Andersen Collapse Rise Concern on Cooperate Governance

Sarbanes-Oxley Act Creation of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board Certification of financial reports by chief executive officers and chief financial officers Auditor independence, including outright bans on certain types of work for audit clients and pre-certification by the company's Audit Committee of all other non-audit work

A requirement that companies listed on stock exchanges have fully independent audit committees that oversee the relationship between the company and its auditor Ban on most personal loans to any executive officer or director Accelerated reporting of insider trading

Prohibition on insider trades during pension fund blackout periods Additional disclosure Enhanced criminal and civil penalties for violations of securities law

Significantly longer maximum jail sentences and larger fines for corporate executives who knowingly and willfully misstate financial statements, although maximum sentences are largely irrelevant because judges generally follow the Federal Sentencing Guidelines in setting actual sentences Employee protections allowing those corporate fraud whistleblowers who file complaints with OSHA within 90 days to win reinstatement, back pay and benefits, compensatory damages, and congressional page abatement orders, and reasonable attorney fees and costs.

Prevention 

Frauds can be prevented by High accountabilities of managements Openness of companies' information Restrictions of insiders tradings Clear financial reports

High accountabilities of managements High accountabilities of managements are essential because for the prevention of frauds. External supervisions are the propulsion providers of provision of high accountabilities. Clear company regulations can enhance the accountabilities of managements. To have high accountabilities of managements, punishments are needed for fraudulent managements.

Openness of companies' information To prevent the frauds, the companies should provide more information to public in order to provide the openness. This openness can improve the management accountability by public supervision. Also, openness can lead the legal entities to supervise the companies to prevent the frauds, and impose punishments to fraudulent entities concerned.

Restrictions of insider tradings Insider tradings provide the least opennesses of the information of trades of the companies. The authority should impose regulations to restrict the insider tradings to prevent fraud. Also, the company could setup the internal rules to control insider tradings.

Clear financial reports Clear financial reports can show the fraudulent accounts easily for the authorities concerned to that for get rid frauds. Frauds occurred by the aid of unclear financial reports. Companies can make clear, true, and fair financial reports to prevent frauds.

Case in Hong Kong comparable with Enron Case The Carrian Fraud Case (1983) Quick development Fallen by frauds Reference: http://www.icac.org.hk/text/eng/cases/carrian/index.html